Portable oscillating rock separator



March 7, 1967 c. HAFFNER 3,307,698

PORTABLE OSCILLATING ROCK SEPARATOR Filed May 15, 1964- 2 Sheets-Sheet l i 4. INVENTOR ALFRED HQFFNEE ATTo ENEH/S March 7, 1967 A. c. HAFFNER 3,307,698

I PORTABLE OSCILLATING ROCK SEPARATOR Filed May 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 59 F ii-H INVENTOR.

Eng-3 ALFRED CHAFFNE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,307,698 PORTABLE OSCILLATING ROCK SEPARATOR Alfred C. Haffner, Basin, Wyo. (416 3rd Ave. 5., Greybull, Wyo. 82426) Filed May 15, 1964, Ser. No. 367,670 Claims. (Cl. 209-258) This invention relates to separators, in general, and in particular to a device for separating rock sizes. For in stance, in the crushing of rock for road ballast or the like, there is an upper limit to the rock sizes the crushing machines will take, and it is a general object of the invention to provide for both automatic and continuous separating out of over-size rock.

Another object is to provide a rock separator which is portable.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a slanted, shaker screen over a hopper, comprising a grid of parallel, spaced rails, swingable about an end hinge, and agitated by eccentrics or cams.

The objects also include provision of a device which is simple in structure, yet durable, easy of manufacture, and low in cost.

These and other objects, which will be apparent, are attained by the present invention, a preferred form of which is described in the following specification, as illustrated in the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a separator according to the invention,

FIGURE Z is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 33 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 66 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference there is shown a wheeled, portable separator, in the form of a trailer-type vehicle, comprising .a framework of angle iron, with a base frame having side members 10, 12, and

end members 14, 16, and uprights 18, 20, 22, 24, rising from the corners of the base frame. A drawbar 26, with pintle 27, carried on a U-form strap 28, secured by bolts 30 to the sides of the base frame, is braced by diagonal members 32. A pair of transport wheels 34 are carried on an axle 36 (FIGURE 2), carried in bushings 38, fixed to plates 40, which are, in turn, fixed to a channel mem ber 42, arranged crosswise of the base frame, at the rear end thereof. A front landing gear for the frame is provided in the form of two screw jacks 44, with hand cranks 46, and threadedly carried in bushing blocks 48 on the base frame.

A hopper 50, in the form of an inverted, truncated, tetragonal pyramid is carried within the confines of the four corner frame posts 18-24, and has a box-like superstructure with three walls consisting of a high sidewall 52, a high, front end wall 54, and a low, sidewall 56. This construction affords a wide angle of feed to the separator. Rigidity of the wall structure is improved by a pair of crossed braces 57, of angle stock.

A separator grid or screen 59 is contained within the box-like superstructure, declines rearwardly relative to the horizontal, and comprises a series of equidistantly spaced, parallel longitudinal rails 58, of flat rectangular cross section, arranged longitudinally of the separator, joined together by a cross tube 60 and two fiat cross bars or plates 62, 64. The tube 60 forms a journal for a transverse hinge pin, in the form of a bolt 66, connected to the 3,307,698 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 side walls 52, 56 which provides for rocking action of the grid 59. This rocking motion is brought about by a series of three cams, or eccentrics 68, fixed on a rotary shaft 70, mounted in anti-friction bearings 72, and journalled through the side walls 52, 56, and engaged with the underside of the plate 64. Tube 60 and shaft are also so arranged as to provide the rearward slope of the grid 59. Shaft 70 carries a pulley 74, to which power is transmitted by a belt 76 from a motor 78, mounted on a platform 80, which as shown is secured to side wall 52 of the hopper, but which may be otherwise located.

The discarded, over-size rock is directed away from the lower end of the separator grid 59 by means of a sloping apron 82, secured, as by welding, to the framework, just under the grid 59, and supported outboard by brace rods 84, with lower ends fixed to a crossbar 86, carried by the corner posts 18, 20.

On the lower end of the hopper 50 is a rectangular tubular neck 88, the opening of whose lower end is regulable as to size, by a sliding plate 90, mounted in channel grooves (FIGURE 6) in a square sleeve 92, fixed to neck 88. Sliding plate has an operating handle 94, and has perforations 96, for water drainage. The separator may be operated with slide 90 closed, in which case dumping would be intermittent, or the slide may be set to provide any rate of discharge, such as dictated by the conveyor capacity, for instance. Since conveyors form no part of the invention, none has been shown, but it will be understood that the rock will preferably be introduced onto the grid by means of a conveyor, and that the output through the hopper will preferably be discharged onto a conveyor for transport to a truck, railway car, or other shipping means.

The operation should be obvious in the light of the foregoing description. Assuming the separator vehicle to be properly located, a heterogeneous rock mass is deposited by a suitable conveyor onto the grid 59. Following such deposit, much of the material of sizes smaller than the spaces between the rails 58 passes therebetween, and into the hopper. This selective process is accelerated by the rocking of the grid, and it will be understood that the action may be varied by appropriate design of the cams, for instance to provide a quick descent. In any event, the slope of the grid, coupled with its rocking action moves the rejected oversize rock downward along the grid, and down along the apron to a disposal conveyor, o-r heap.

While a certain preferred embodiment has been shown and described, various modifications will be apparent, in the light of this disclosure, and the invention should not, therefore, be deemed as limited, except insofar as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable separator comprising a wheeled frame having upstanding corner posts, an inverted pyramidical hopper disposed between and supported on the posts, side walls on the frame located along opposite sides of and rising above the hopper, a fixed shaft spaced above the hopper at one end of the frame, said fixed shaft extending between and being fixed to said side walls, a rotary shaft extending between and journalled on said side walls, said rotary shaft being located at the other end of the frame and depressed below the level of the fixed shaft, said rotary shaft having fixed-eccentric means thereon, means on an end of the rotary shaft for rotating the same, a sloping grid covering the hopper and extending between said side walls, said grid having a transverse journal tube fixed to its underside adjacent to its elevated end, said tube being journalled on said fixed shaft, said grid having a fixed cross plate on its underside adjacent to the depressed end of the grid, said eccentric means being engaged with the underside of said cross plate to produce a rocking action of the grid on said journal tube.

2. A portable separator according to claim 1, wherein said grid consists of a plurality of parallel spaced flat longitudinal rails, said journal tube serving to space and assemble said rails at one end of the grid, said cross plate serving to space and assemble the rails at the other end of the grid.

3. A portable separator according to claim 1, wherein said frame carries a sloping discharge apron extending away from the depressed end of the grid, said apron having an elevated end positioned close to and beneath the depressed end of the grid.

4. A portable separator according to claim 1, wherein a pendant neck is on the lower end of the hopper, said neck having an open lower end, and a horizontal slide plate mounted on the neck and extending across the lower end of the neck, said plate being movable endwise relative to the neck from a closed position to partially open positions.

5. A portable separator according to claim 1, wherein ground-engaging wheels are journalled on the end of the frame adjacent to the depressed end of the grid, and adjustable levelling ground-engaging jack means are carried by the frame at the other end of the frame.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/ 1884 Mumford 209-340 X 9/1903 Egan 209-395 X 10/1908 Fanton 209-393 X 3/1914 Mattingly 209-420 X 9/1915 Miller 210-482 5/1927 Deisten 209-259 X 5/ 1952 Larsson 209-367 10/1963 Hayden 209-396 X 10/1963 Couture 209-325 FOREIGN PATENTS 1/1959 France. 1/ 1925 Germany.

HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examiner.

R. HALPER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PORTABLE SEPARATOR COMPRISING A WHEELED FRAME HAVING UPSTANDING CORNER POSTS, AN INVERTED PYRAMIDICAL HOPPER DISPOSED BETWEEN AND SUPPORTED ON THE POSTS, SIDE WALLS ON THE FRAME LOCATED ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF AND RISING ABOVE THE HOPPER, A FIXED SHAFT SPACED ABOVE THE HOPPER AT ONE END OF THE FRAME, SAID FIXED SHAFT EXTENDING BETWEEN AND BEING FIXED TO SAID SIDE WALLS, A ROTARY SHAFT EXTENDING BETWEEN AND JOURNALLED ON SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID ROTARY SHAFT BEING LOCATED AT THE OTHER END OF THE FRAME AND DEPRESSED BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE FIXED SHAFT, SAID ROTARY SHAFT HAVING FIXED ECCENTRIC MEANS THEREON, MEANS ON AN END OF THE ROTARY SHAFT FOR ROTATING THE SAME, A SLOPING GRID COVERING THE HOPPER AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID GRID HAVING A TRANSVERSE JOURNAL TUBE FIXED TO ITS UNDERSIDE ADJACENT TO ITS ELEVATED END, SAID TUBE BEING JOURNALLED ON SAID FIXED SHAFT, SAID GRID HAVING A FIXED CROSS PLATE ON ITS UNDERSIDE ADJACENT TO THE DEPRESSED END OF THE GRID, SAID ECCENTRIC MEANS BEING ENGAGED WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID CROSS PLATE TO PRODUCE A ROCKING ACTION OF THE GRID ON SAID JOURNAL TUBE. 